Apples and Hedgehogs
by Muggle Jane
Summary: It's Luna's birthday, and George can't cast a Patronus. Oneshot!


**A/N: I don't own the characters, of course!**

"George," she called softly, moving through the darkened shop. He hadn't been in the flat when she'd flooed home, so she'd taken off her cloak and headed downstairs to see if she could find him. "Are you down here?"

"Back here," he replied, each word picked out with the careful deliberateness that meant he'd been drinking.

She walked through to where the door to the back room was open, the dim light from inside spilling out into a faint pool on the floor. Sure enough, there he was, sitting down against the shelf that lined the far wall, his wand in his hand and a half-empty bottle sitting beside him. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned, walking over to him.

"Sit with me, Luna," he invited, holding up his arms for her.

She gave him a gentle smile and sank down to sit between his outstretched legs, her back pressed up against his chest. "What happened?"

She heard him set his wand on the floor before his arms settled almost automatically around her waist. "I can't cast a Pa- a Patronus." His words were slightly slurred; evidently the top half of the bottle had all disappeared within the last little while. "I haven't been able to since Fred... Since Fred."

She draped her arms over his and squeezed them to her. "It's hard to remember happy things sometimes."

"You're always happy," he mumbled, burying his nose in her long hair. "You smell so good."

"Why were you trying to cast a Patronus?" she asked, curious.

"I was trying to send you a mess- a message." He stilled for a moment. "I made reseverations for dinner. For your birthday. Why did you have to be born the day before we were?"

"I expect that both of our sets of parents had sex sometime in July."

He laughed at that, his nose sliding along her head until it brushed against the outside of her ear. "You smell good," he repeated. "Like apples."

"You like apples, that's why I made my shampoo smell like this."

"I love apples. I love you." His lips closed over the outer edge of her ear and she couldn't help but sigh at the pleasant sensation. "I don't think I can go out for dinner now," he said against her skin. "Sorry, Luna. I didn't mean to ruin your birthday."

"It's fine," she assured him, lacing her fingers between his and lifting his large hand up to her lips to brush a kiss across his palm. "I still get to spend it with you."

"You're not mad at me? You should be mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you? I know this is a hard day for you and I expect you'll make it up to me when you're feeling a little more like yourself." She kissed his palm again. "You always come up with the most ingenious presents when you feel guilty."

He laughed again, burying his face in the side of her neck. "I don't want to go and see my family tomorrow," he mumbled, the words almost getting lost in her long hair.

"So don't," she replied easily, tucking his arm back around her waist. "Stay here, I'll stay with you. We'll wake up in the morning and go and visit Fred, and then we can come back here and spend the day however you want. It's your birthday."

"Will you make me apple pie?"

"Yes. And you can eat all of it if you want to."

"I want to share. I like sharing things with you. Make me smile, Luna."

She turned her head and he shifted to bring his lips down to brush gently against hers. That smile, that sad smile he always had when she kissed him like that, made her smile too. "You should eat something," she told him gently. "You've had a lot to drink and you probably haven't eaten since lunch."

"Not yet. I don't want to let you go just yet. Show me your Patronus."

She took her wand out of the pocket of her skirt and pointed it at the air in front of them. "_Expecto Patronum_." The silvery hare hopped all over the dimly lit room before disappearing through the wall.

"Help me." He slipped his hand out from under hers and produced his own wand a moment later, holding it awkwardly in front of her.

She closed her hand over his own. "What makes you happy, George?"

"You do."

"What's the happiest memory you have with me?"

His nose dropped to the back of her head again and she heard him inhale. "That day at the beach, by Bill's. When you and Ginny finished school."

She smiled, resting her other hand on his knee and squeezing it affectionately. "What about that day?"

"We went swimming- you look so good in a bathing suit." He was silent for a moment, his lips questing towards her ear again. He kissed her gently before continuing, "And then we got out of the water and we were all standing around and talking and laughing and you looked at me like I was the only person in the world, and you told me you loved me. Right there, in front of everyone, but it was like we were the only two people that mattered."

"I do love you."

She felt his hand start to move and she guided it into the right movement. "_Expecto Patronum_," he whispered. A silvery hedgehog seemed to crawl out the end of his wand and waddle through the air around their heads. "Fred... Fred's Patronus was a hedgehog," he whispered.

She turned and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her ear against his chest to listen to his heart beat. It was a little faster than it normally was, likely a combination of the alcohol and the emotion.

When he spoke again, his voice was unsteady. "Thank you," he told her sincerely. "You do so much for me."

"Of course I do. I love you."

He was laughing again as he kissed the top of her head. "I should ma- make dinner for you, at least."

"I don't want the flat to burn down. I'll do it." She gently extricated herself from his embrace and stood up, offering her hand to help him up as well.

He took it and got to his feet, a little wobbly. "I'll make it up to you."

"Of course you will," she replied with a bright smile. She held his hand as they went back through the shop, up to their flat.

**More A/N: This story was written for the Teachers' Lounge 2014 Valentines Promptfest. Please leave a review, and check out the other stories, which are listed at topic/119413/104638777/1/2014-Valentines-s-Promptfest-story-list**


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